Trinitarian spirituality? What does that mean? And this? What does this mean? “The Trinity is the space in which Christian life takes place.” Of course, we’re all for the Trinity. Whatever that means. We get a sermon on it once a year (in the Anglican tradition), on Trinity Sunday (which falls on 3 June [Read More...]

It’s not hard to write off the extremists as crazies. All of them. They’re the ones who live in obscure areas of the world and whose authenticity is determined by some personal charisma with a handful of social dropouts. So when you go to an article like this one, addressing the conclusions of “a group [Read More...]

I HATE losing things. We all do, of course. Such losses are in turn inconvenient (keys?), tragic (a mother’s ring?), irritating (a grocery list?), panic-inducing (a passport?), and costly (a credit card?). And sometimes it seems that there are so many moving parts in life that we’re all being driven to become OCD, “checkers,” [Read More...]

“We urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.” (2 Cor. 6.1) As I sat in yesterday’s Ash Wednesday service, listening to the great and profound readings associated with that day—Joel’s prophetic thunder; Jesus’ call to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; David’s remorseful song—it was this simple message that struck me. Do not receive [Read More...]

God doesn’t give us much time to enjoy Eden. Two chapters of wonder and creative power and beauty, and then over 1,000 chapters of life east of Eden. And that cherubim with the flaming sword meant to guard the gates? We’ve felt the heat of that sword at every turn. I’ve been pondering my ancestral [Read More...]

At the outset of the 2011 election campaigns, here’s another plea that Christians become aware of the ways we are divided by the waves of moral manipulation in the mouths of candidates of both parties. Will we find the paths of righteousness in campaign speeches? Methinks not. Nor does my fellow Episcopalian and Patheos columnist, [Read More...]

At home in my dresser upstairs I have a wee yellow sock, about four inches long. Just one. Downstairs I have a drawer in the laundry room full of single socks, which, despite my husband’s indictment, do not lose their partners through any collusion on my part. Those socks are casualties of clothes-basket subterfuge, a [Read More...]

Because I spend a lot of time reading and editing online articles on religion, and because we Americans are particularly sensitive to issues of public expressions of faith, and because the campaigning season is upon us, I also get a healthy dose of politics. The 2012 election is nearly 15 months away, and I’m already [Read More...]

The lectionary reading for this coming Sunday is from the Gospel of Matthew, 15.21-28 – the faith of the Canaanite woman. On many of my readings over the years, all I could really think about in this short story is how apparently rude Jesus is to the poor woman. First he ignores her; then he [Read More...]

As many of you may know, my passion is the Church — its unity, its sanctity, its truth. I lament the state of the Church for a lot of reasons. Here is a visual lament, beautiful and mournful: Thirty Abandoned Churches from Around the World. Imagine vital communities gathering, celebrating, remembering, worshipping in these buildings. [Read More...]

We have all seen the galling pictures of poor children in underdeveloped countries around the world, and perhaps we have become inured to their connections with real, everyday life. Photographer James Mollison has seen something else through his lens and it gets behind the stereotypical shots of poverty and privilege. His recently released book, Where [Read More...]

There isn’t much in scripture that seems to indicate Our Lord will be using my email habits to judge my soul. I don’t think He’ll have to look that hard. Nevertheless, forwarded emails about Jesus that demand I send them on to ten people or surrender my salvation make me nervous. “Stop what you’re doing [Read More...]